The invention relates to a sensor device, in particular for use in a motor vehicle having a housing for accommodating a sensor element, wherein the sensor element has electrical contact areas which are connected to electrical plug connections arranged in the housing in an electrically conductive manner in the region of contacts of the plug connections, wherein a force is applied to the sensor element for the purpose of making electrical contact with a housing element in the direction of the plug connections.
Such a sensor device is disclosed by the German patent specification DE 10 2008 000 889 A1 of the applicant. The known sensor device, which is designed as a pressure sensor, has a housing for accommodating a sensor element. The sensor element is thereby of block-shaped design according to one embodiment and has contact areas, which are disposed on the bottom side of said sensor element so as to be integrated therein, for electrically contacting said sensor element to contacts of plug connections. The plug connections are disposed or, respectively, designed as pin terminals in the housing, wherein the end regions which face the sensor element and comprise the contacts of the plug connections are resiliently disposed or designed. When mounting the sensor element in the housing, the sensor element is placed against a surface of the inside region of the housing, wherein the electrical contact areas disposed on the bottom side of the sensor element simultaneously come in contact with the contacts of the plug connections and thereby apply a force to said contacts so that said contacts are elastically deformed. A housing element designed as a housing cover is used, for example, to press down or hold down the sensor element in the housing. In order to achieve a reliable electrical contacting of the sensor element in the disclosed sensor device when said sensor element is planarly disposed in the housing, the previously described elastic or resilient disposal of the plug connections is required. The design of such plug connections, which in the case of the German patent specification DE 10 2008 000 889 A1 comprise a curved shape in the region of the contacts and an expansion space to ensure the mobility of the contacts, is relatively complicated.